


Office Poll, The

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-07
Updated: 2008-01-07
Packaged: 2019-05-31 09:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15116438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: So he would take the high school boy route and show her his underwear; that was bound to make her like him.





	Office Poll, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: This is for Tammy's challenge to use the words ballpoint pen and lamp. The article of clothing she chose was a pair of boxer shorts.  


* * *

Toby turned on the desk lamp beside him and looked at the blank sheet of paper. Nothing came to his mind and that perplexed and upset him. He did not need writer’s block right now; his mind flashed to the last time he had it. Two years of nothing until one day he wrote one of the best speeches of his career so far. That speech got Leo McGarry to notice him. That speech was the only reason that he sat in that office. Well, that and David Rosen wanted to spend more time with his family. Oh dear lord, he definitely did not need to be thinking about that. He would get nothing done today if that filled his mind.

Thunder cracked across the sky and lightning followed. Toby went to the window, lifting the blinds to look outside. It was 10:45 in the morning but it looked like night. It looked more like the apocalypse had come to Washington, DC. It would be as good a place as any to start wiping out the sinners when the second coming came. 

A large storm system was heading straight for them…the second one in as many months. It was warm outside but the winds howled. Raindrops the size of quarters soaked the city and its inhabitants. Leo might come in any minute and say it was time to get the hell out of dodge. Of course, not too many places were safer than the White House to hunker down during a storm.

He needed to think. He needed to stop looking out of his window and think. The President of the United States had MS. Some say he lied; some he failed to disclose. He got up on a podium and said he would win the next election. He went to Manchester and was triumphant. Now came all the hard work. His first test would be the teacher’s union, always a sentimental favorite with the President. 

Toby wanted to write a speech about education, values, the children being the future and all of that. Except that white noise and spider webs filled his mind. He could hear Sam in the next room clicking away on the keys of his laptop and whether he was working diligently or sending an email, Toby wanted him to stop. Nothing made him feel more useless than the hard work of everyone else.

The Communications Director took a deep breath, grabbed his coffee cup from the desk and finished it off. 

“Ginger!”

“Yes?”

“I need pie.”

“At eleven o’clock in the morning?” she asked.

“Actually, its 10:52 and yes. I need pie.”

“Any particular kind?”

“I don’t care. Unless it’s that French apple stuff, don’t bring me that. Cherry is preferred but apple is alright. Just bring me a piece of pie…please.”

“Sure.”

She left the office as Toby grabbed one of the pink rubber balls that occupied his top drawer. He sat down in the chair and threw it against the wall. Once, twice, three times, four, five, six…Sam stuck his head into the office.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“You were throwing the ball. Isn’t that the bat signal?”

“When I throw it against the window. I was throwing against the wall.”

“We had a discussion about you throwing it against the window. Maintenance threatened to charge you if you broke it one more time. Are you alright?”

“Fine. I don’t need anything, except a fucking speech.”

“Are you alright Toby?”

He sighed, throwing the ball three more times. Then he clenched the hard rubber in his fist until his knuckles were white.

“I'm fine Sam. Just need a little time to myself.”

“We might all be getting out of here anyway. Now is certainly not the time for a day off but the weather only promises to get rougher.”

“Yeah, OK. Thanks.”

Sam got the message and left. He closed the door behind him and Toby was again alone. When Ginger brought him pie, pecan to his utter delight, she left it on the desk without saying a word. She grabbed up some binders and left quickly. The legal pad was taunting him…staring at him like bright yellow sunshine, daring him to add black words to its perfectly clean pages. A sound of utter frustration left his diaphragm and came out of his mouth. He grabbed the pad, beating it against the desk like a lunatic. That’s how Nora almost found him. She walked into his office, closing the door behind her.

“Hey Toby.”

“Good morning.” he mumbled. His forehead rested on the legal pad now lying on his desk. Maybe it would suck the thoughts out of his cerebral cortex and onto the page.

“How are you?”

“Just dandy. Absolutely fucking dandy.”

“Good to hear. Can I ask you a favor…two favors?”

“What do you need Nora?”

He looked up and smiled despite himself. The woman was a sight to behold, as beautiful as hell. She was dressed in grey slacks and a blue criss cross top. He had a fantastic, though conservative view of her cleavage. Toby stamped out the desire to get up and move closer to her; he was sure she smelled amazing. It had only been two weeks since their first kiss. Their second, third and fourth was nice too. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, he could be on the receiving end of number five in the very near future.

“Well…I need to see your underwear.”

“I'm sorry?” he ran his hands over his eyes. That was a bit silly though because he was sure it was his ears, and not his eyes that were working incorrectly. He began to chew on the ballpoint pen he held between his teeth. Shaken, Toby spit it out.

“It’s an office poll.” She said.

“My underwear is an office poll?”

“Sort of. We’re seeing what kind of underwear Bartlet staffers prefer.”

“We are in the midst of an uphill reelection battle with unknown consequences for all of us. You're telling me that despite this, there is an underwear poll going around the West Wing?”

“Not just the West Wing. It apparently started in the Congressional Liaisons office and spread quickly. It was an assistant’s thing but I thought it was fun so I jumped in, dragging a few people with me.”

“Like me?” he asked.

“Mmm hmm. So, boxers, briefs, or boxer briefs…those seem to be popular.”

“What do you need to see them for?”

“Confirmation. You should know by now that men sometimes say what sounds good instead of the truth.”

“So men in the West Wing, in the White House, have been showing you their underwear?”

“I can be quite persuasive.” She replied.

Toby swallowed and just looked at her.

“Larry has got to get his assistants in line.” He muttered.

“C’mon Tobias…I have a meeting in 20 minutes.”

“Close the blinds.”

“Really? You're going to do it?”

“Close the blinds.” He repeated.

She did what he asked then she slowly turned the lock on his doorknob. He wanted her so bad but knew from experience that jumping Nora without her consent was a terrible idea. So he would take the high school boy route and show her his underwear; that was bound to make her like him.

“So…boxers or briefs Toby?”

“Boxers.”

“Always?”

“Briefs when I was a kid. I have been wearing boxers since my balls dropped.”

Her joyous laugh made him smile. He went for his belt, undoing it and then his slacks. Nora moved closer, resting on the edge of his desk as his pants fell. He was grateful he grabbed a nice pair this morning from his underwear drawer. They were gray, the same color as her slacks. Nora leaned forward to get a view from behind.

“Nice.”

“Now you can go and tell everyone so they can wonder if I really showed them to you.”

“They’ll know you showed…Toby Ziegler is a man of his word. I gotta go ask Sam next.”

“Sam is not allowed to show you his underwear.” Toby said.

“Why not?”

“Firstly, I am sure this is some form of sexual harassment. Secondly, he’s sexier than me and that peeves me right now.”

Nora kissed his cheek and the scent of her filled Toby’s head like a hit from a bong.

“You have nothing to worry about there. He’s practically married.”

“That’s the only reason I have nothing to worry about?”

“That and you're the cutest guy I know Toby Ziegler. Pull up your pants.”

“Yes ma'am.”

He did and Nora brushed his hands away to button and zip him. She left the belt for him. He was surprised he could even move. This woman was going to be the death of him…she had writer’s block beat by a mile.

“Wanna have dinner tonight?” she asked.

“It'll probably be here.”

“That’s OK.”

“Yes.”

“See you later.”

She left the office and after a few minutes he was not sure that the whole underwear incident happened. He sat back in his chair, picked up his ball and bounced it on the floor. The clouds cleared his mind and suddenly words filled the empty spaces. Sighing, Toby picked up the legal pad and wrote until he could not anymore. Looking down at the page, he had the beginnings of a speech. So, that’s what it took. He would tell her later and see how far that would get him.

***


End file.
